BrightStars

Our office will be closed for the holiday, with normal hours resuming July 8th, 2024. We hope you enjoy a safe and healthy holiday!

Strengthening Business Practices: Recruiting, Hiring and Retaining Staff - Online Series - Center for Early Learning Professionals This series will support administrators in the innovation of the management components needed to address current staffing challenges in the early care and education community. Sessions will focus on the processes of recruitment, interviewing, orientation, and staff retention. Participants will devel...

The RI Pre-K lottery is open and accepting applications from families with children who turn 4 on or before September 1, 2024, are not eligible for kindergarten, and live in an eligible community. Learn more and apply here: https://ride.ri.gov/instruction-assessment/early-childhood-education/ri-pre-k

Tune-In Tuesdays: Register for Spring PD / Martes sintonizados: ¡Regístrate para DP de la primavera! - Center for Early Learning Professionals Weekly Highlights En español abajo April 23, 2024 Happy Tune-In Tuesday! Here are the weekly highlights for the early childhood community in Rhode Island. This issue includes the following sections: Spring PD has Sprung! Grab a spot now! News from DHS Pandemic Retention Bonus Reminder News from RID...

Center for Early Learning Professionals - Sign In The Center for Early Learning Professionals is a project of Education Development Center (EDC) with funding from the Rhode Island Department of Human Services. 

Happy to be a sponsor again this year!!

As we finish the final preparations for the festival on April 6, we are increasingly reminded that we couldn't do this event without the generosity of all our amazing sponsors. Thank you to all who sponsor this event. If you support We Are ALL Readers, please support these folks as well!

2024-25 RI Pre-K Lottery Interest Form RI Pre-K, entering its 16th year, provides free, high-quality Pre-K education to eligible 4-year old children. Through a mixed-delivery service model, RI Pre-K classrooms are located within Head Start Programs, Local schools, and community based childcare providers across the state. To be eligible f...

Need help finding your local DHS office? Check out the new DHS Office Locator Tool available on our website to quickly find your home office. While customers can go to any regional office for in-person assistance, a home office is the office assigned to customers for any required interviews. https://dhs.ri.gov/office-locator-tool

Survey for Family Child Care Providers / Encuesta para proveedores de cuidado infantil familiar - Center for Early Learning Professionals En español abajo DHS is partnering with Education Development Center (EDC) on a research study examining how Family Child Care (FCC) providers make use of funding and other supports from DHS and its partners. The study also explores FCC providers’ overall experiences managing their programs. As p...

Pandemic Retention Bonus Update / Actualización del bono de retención por pandemia - Center for Early Learning Professionals *Traducción en español está abajo February 21, 2024 This winter, the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) awarded more than 4,400 early educators an Early Educator Pandemic Retention Bonus. Thank you to all the early educators serving the children in Rhode Island – we are so apprecia...

The Center for Early Learning Professionals is Offering Two Support Sessions for Programs Applying for the RI Pre-K Expansion Grant - Center for Early Learning Professionals The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) is now accepting applications to become a state-funded RI Pre-K provider. Eligible organizations include licensed child care programs, Head Start organizations, and public and non-public schools. More details, including the grant application, can be fo...

RI Pre-K Expansion Grant Application Now Available - Center for Early Learning Professionals RIDE is now accepting applications to become an RI Pre-K provider. Eligible organizations include: licensed childcare programs, Head Start organizations, public schools, and non-public schools that are able to operate a RI Pre-K classroom within the proposed guidelines and Pre-K policies. Key dates....

News release: DHS Launches Early Childhood Education Workforce Registry. Read more here: https://dhs.ri.gov/press-releases/dhs-launches-early-childhood-education-workforce-registry

Tomorrow, Saturday, February 3, is Take Your Child to the Library Day! As you might imagine, libraries are among our favorite places, and we can't say enough great things about librarians. In fact, local school and public librarians make the We Are ALL Readers festival happen.

Do yourselves and your kids a favor tomorrow--and frequently: Take them to the library and show them the magic that lives there! Later this spring, you'll be able to see our StoryWalks(R) at many Rhode Island public libraries.

Apply Here: https://forms.gle/ve2CpmTNTsX3i9MdA

We are looking for Early Childhood leaders in all types of settings to join our Brightstars Advisory Committee!

As Rhode Island is adding public and non-public schools serving 3-5 year olds to the Brightstars Framework and assessing next steps for the current Brightstars system, we are looking for people who are passionate about maintaining high-quality classrooms and programming for Rhode Island’s littlest learners!

What is the BrightStars Advisory Committee?
The BrightStars Advisory Committee works in a public-private partnership to build a strong foundation for Rhode Island’s Quality Rating and Improvement System and the programs and public and non-public schools participating across the quality continuum. The Advisory Committee is directly responsible for ensuring any changes to the framework are based in research, best practice, and ensuring it is best for the children in Rhode Island. They are an integral vote on the Steering Committee, who needs to approve all changes in any QRIS-related framework.

Members of the committee guide and assist BrightStars’ on-going work by:
- Review participating data and outcomes
- Receive, research and consider implementation of revisions for strengthening the BrightStars frameworks
-Maintain relationships with national advocacy groups, foundations and other states for sharing best practices
- Identify key strategies focused on continuous quality improvements for participating BrightStars programs and schools
- Represent the voice of the communities that BrightStars serves
- Spread the word that quality matters for children

The group is composed of a respected community and early care and education leaders.

DHS and RIDE, funders of BrightStars, are currently accepting Requests for Membership from the community to participate in the BrightStars Advisory Committee. If you are interested, please complete the following application no later than Friday, February 9th at 4pm. Applications will be reviewed by the BrightStars Steering Committee (made up of representatives from DHS, RIDE and RIAEYC) and new members will be notified the following week. A meeting will be scheduled for the new BrightStars Advisory Committee in early March.

It is important to note that depending on response, not everyone who applies may be able to take part in the committee. We want to ensure the committee is representative of all early learning settings (center-based and family child care, school age programs, public and non-public schools), positions in the field (administrators, teachers, TA specialists, advocates) and demographic areas of the state. You will be informed either way of your membership.

RISES System Go-Live Preparation & Training / Preparación y capacitación para la puesta en funcionamiento del sistema RISES - Center for Early Learning Professionals *Traducción en español está abajo Dear Provider Community, We are excited to announce that the Rhode Island Start Early System (RISES) is set to launch on February 5, 2024 officially. As we near this significant milestone, it’s crucial to ensure a seamless transition and effective utilization o...

Creating Playgrounds for Early Childhood Facilities – RICCELFF Volume 4 on Creating Playgrounds for Early Childhood Facilities assists with the planning of an early childhood center’s outdoor space to achieve a successful natural environment for young children. This guide suggests equipment and materials that support a range of activities that children can en...

Strolling Thunder 2024 ZERO TO THREE is connecting babies and families from all 50 states and DC to their Members of Congress for Strolling Thunder  on April 30, 2024. Families will meet with their policymakers on the hill and share what babies and families need to thrive.

This is amazing! Congratulations to Books Are Wings-we are proud to partner with them through our Learners_ri Program!

It's been an incredible year for . Through staff and board transitions, we've been able to continue to provide high quality literacy programming and access to books to young people across Rhode Island. As we head into 2024, we're excited to share our 2023 impact with you. We couldn't have done it without your support - thank you! There is still time to support our Gift of Literacy Campaign, which we are extending through January 31st. Support our impact in 2024: bit.ly/3FfNR40

CELP PD - Center for Early Learning Professionals At the Center for Early Learning Professionals, we are committed to providing Rhode Island’s early childhood workforce with high-quality professional development opportunities—both in person and online—that are designed to build knowledge and strengthen competencies. Our innovative approach he...

Seasons greeting from the entire RIAEYC team!